Just like real battles, re-creation takes patience, skills and sometimes a great deal of luck. Northern Virginia Gamers simulated an attack on Kuwait City Saturday.

U.S. and allied troops waltzed into Kuwait City last month, unhindered by all by the most minor opposition from Iraqi troops. But here's how it could have been:

The Second Battalion/8th Cav regiment of the American First Cavalry Division has penetrated the western defenses of Kuwait City, but a large Iraqi tank force is moving south to intercept the Allies. The 158th Artillery and 2nd Battery, 142nd Artillery of the Oklahoma National Guard are ready to meet the threat.

Kuwaiti and Saudi forces have been attacking the dug-in positions of the Iraqi 10th "Saladin " Armored Division just south of the city. The U.S. Marine Expedition Force, standing ready off the coast of the city, is preparing to land.

Air support from the Navy and Air Force is being hampered by poor weather and visibility.

Had the Iraqi military not disintegrated before allied forced reached Kuwait, the above encounter could have been real. For members of the Northern Virginia Adventure Gamers (NOVAG), simulating such an attack is a popular avocation.

About a dozen NOVAG members gathered Saturday at the Wargamer's Hobby Shop at Holly Plaza in Sterling to decide "Operation Desert Thrust", a simulation of the never-happened desert battle for Kuwait.

"It's probably a month late, but it takes a while to set this kind of battle up," said Mac McNally, who runs the hobby shop and is secretary of NOVAG.

On a 12-foot by 12-foot game board in the back of the shop Saturday, simulators took turns aiming their artillery and other weapons at their opponents' Each move was calculated carefully and carried a degree of success depending on distance from the target, where the target was in relation to the attacker, and other factors

"Ultimately, this game lies on a roll of the dice," said McNally. "Sometimes you'll have a move with a 95% chance of success, and you roll 98's all day."

As the simulation progressed, superior American machinery began to overwhelm the Iraqi opposition. Traditional war game rules were relaxed a little so the players, would be able to complete the simulation in a day. Under the strictest rules, play progresses slowly, sometimes with only three or four turns per person.

The war game enthusiasts come from a wide array of backgrounds. There was an accountant (club president James Inger), IRS agent (Larry Manzare), operations manager (Tom Lemmon) and Parkview High student (Charles Schaefer) among the participants, carefully mapping strategy and checking distances with rulers before deciding what are as to attack

The battle consisted of more than 500 miniatures of modern armor, aircraft and ships, including real combatants from the U.S Britain, Kuwait and Iraq.

"This simulation took into account the superiority of American equipment," said McNally. "The M1 tanks were impervious to hits from the front (though not the side) ... the Soviet equipment (used by the Iraqis) was really designed for the European theater--it's inaccurate at long ranges."

By nightfall Saturday, the battle was nearly over. U.S. Marines had taken back the Kuwaiti oil fields, and the allied forces had surrounded and were poised to take Kuwait City. The Iraqis had suffered 28 tanks killed, while American forces lost only five or six tanks.

Unlike the real thing, however, the simulated Iraqi forces refused to surrender the city, and the battle continued until participants had to leave at 6:30 p.m.

NOVAG members have staged earlier battles from the Napoleonic era to the present day, with several battles of the future in the planning stage.